德睿智药 (MindRank AI)
Category: AI in Biotech / Drug Discovery
A clinical-stage AI-powered drug discovery company developing an AI-native pharmaceutical platform (MAP) with a lead oral GLP-1RA small molecule (MDR-001) in Phase III trials. 德睿智药 (MindRank AI) was founded in 2020. The company is led by 牛张明 (Zhangming Niu). Based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $52M. Latest round: Series B. Key investors include 夏尔巴投资 (Sherpa Healthcare Partners), 华盖资本 (Huagai Capital), 松禾资本 (Songhe Capital), 谢诺投资 (Cherami Investment Group), 境界投资 (Jingjie Investment), 星河湾创投 (Star River Group), 申银万国投资 (Shenyin & Wanguo Investment).
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $52M
Value proposition
AI-native drug discovery platform that transforms the traditional trial-and-error R&D model into a data-driven, computable, and iterative engineering process, reducing preclinical R&D timelines by 50%+ and costs by 60%+ compared to conventional methods.
Products and solutions
MAP (Molecule Arts Platform) - AI-native drug discovery engine comprising: PharmKG (knowledge graph platform), Molecule Pro (AI drug design platform), Molecule Dance (protein dynamics/structure prediction), Clinical Pro (clinical AI platform), Lead drug: MDR-001 (oral small molecule GLP-1RA for obesity/T2D, Phase III), Pipeline: 15+ innovative drug candidates covering GPCR, molecular glue, allosteric inhibitors, dual-target oncology small molecules
Unique value
Only AI drug discovery company in China with a wholly AI-designed Category 1 new drug (GLP-1RA) in Phase III trials; proprietary MAP platform with multi-agent collaboration and Clinical Data-in-the-Loop feedback system that continuously improves from every pipeline outcome.
Target customer
Large pharmaceutical companies (for co-development and licensing); biotech firms; patients with metabolic diseases (obesity, T2D) and oncology indications
Industries served
AI-driven drug discovery, Metabolic diseases (obesity, T2D), Oncology, Anti-aging therapeutics
Technology advantage
Multi-agent AI system connecting computational design, wet-lab validation, and clinical data feedback; self-owned 200-GPU cluster for training biomedical foundation models; proprietary data pipeline generating high-quality training data; Clinical Data-in-the-Loop system with 1,300+ de-identified clinical data points from MDR-001 trial; achieved 10x industry efficiency (8 months to PCC, 4.5 years to Phase III vs 7-9 years traditional)
How they differentiate
End-to-end AI-native pharma system (MAP) with multi-agent architecture connecting computational design, wet-lab validation, and clinical data feedback loops; achieved PCC in 8 months with only 80+ molecules synthesized (vs. industry standard of hundreds to thousands); first AI-assisted Category 1 new drug in China to reach Phase III; 15+ pipelines with only 40+ staff, demonstrating exceptional capital and operational efficiency.
Main competitors
英矽智能 (Insilico Medicine), 晶泰科技 (XtalPi), 科辉智药 (ArthroBiotech)
Key partnerships
复宏汉霖 (Henlius, 2696.HK) - AI-enabled ADC and anti-aging therapy, 海正药业 (Hisun, 600267.SH) - AI-empowered drug discovery, 美迪西 (Medicilon, 688202.SH) - AI-enabled drug discovery, 皓元医药 (Chemexpress, 688131.SH) - AI synthetic accessibility, 默沙东中国 (MSD China) - knowledge graph project, BioMetas - AI-enabled drug discovery, Roche Accelerator Program (2025), Wellcome Leap & Temasek Trust Dynamic Resilience program
Notable customers
默沙东 (MSD China), 复宏汉霖 (Henlius), 海正药业 (Hisun), 美迪西 (Medicilon), 皓元医药 (Chemexpress), Antengene (6996.HK)
Major milestones
2018-2020: AI solution named one of '11 Top AI Breakthroughs in Biopharma' by Deep Pharma Intelligence, 2020-11: Company founded in Hangzhou, 2021-05: ¥45M Seed round from Sherpa Healthcare, 2021-12: Series A from Huagai/Songhe/Sherpa, 2022-12: US FDA IND approval for MDR-001 (19 months from project start), 2023-07: $23M Series A+, 2023-08: Selected for Forbes Asia 100 to Watch, 2023-09: Phase II dosing started for MDR-001, 2024-01: Partnership with Henlius, 2025-12: Phase III (MOBILE trial) initiated for MDR-001, 2026-07: $52M Series B funding
Growth metrics
15+ drug pipelines; 5 PCC candidates; 3 IND approvals (China and US); 760+ patients enrolled in Phase III trial across 50+ clinical centers; 40+ employees; $52M total disclosed funding
Market positioning
Leading AI-native biotech in China with the most advanced AI-designed drug pipeline (first to Phase III); positioned as the 'AI-era Vertex Pharmaceuticals' aiming to build a self-sustaining R&D flywheel where drug revenues fund continuous AI platform improvement.
Geographic focus
China (primary); expanding globally with US FDA IND clearance and international partnerships
Patents and IP
Proprietary MAP platform with multi-agent architecture; PharmKG knowledge graph; Molecule Pro AI drug design platform; Molecule Dance protein dynamics platform; Clinical Pro clinical AI platform; 30+ peer-reviewed publications in Nature, Cell series, ICML
About 牛张明 (Zhangming Niu)
Ex-CTO of Aladdin Healthcare Technologies (German主板 listed AI healthcare company); Co-led EU Innovative Medicines Initiative multi-million Euro project; Published 30+ peer-reviewed papers in Nature, Cell series, and top AI conferences
Official website: https://www.mindrank.ai